By Audrey Anderson
Hometown Weekly Reporter
The Massachusetts Horticultural Society's Festival of Trees is celebrating its 15th year in 2023. More than just a festival of trees, the event has grown into a fun, multifaceted, family-friendly holiday destination at the society's Garden at Elm Bank on route 16 in Dover and Wellesley.
At the heart of the event are the lovely and whimsical trees creatively decorated by individuals and organizations and raffled off to visitors. The event also includes a massive model train village, called Snow Village, donated by Bill Meagher, including many houses and buildings, mountains, skiers, a Ferris wheel, and so many other elements. In addition, admission includes hot chocolate and s’mores to toast by smokeless stoves, and a large area of lighted gardens to walk through, including Weezie's Garden for Children, the Italianate Garden, the Bressingham Garden, the Hartley Botanic Greenhouse, and other gardens on the society's property, With so much to do and see, the Festival of Trees is an event unlike other holiday events in the area, and it is well worth the trip!
According to Gretel Anspach, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, Allison Dush, the Director of Education and Guest Experience, is in charge of setting up the outdoor lighting. She and her team of volunteers start in October, as soon as the leaves are mostly picked up. They aim to design a natural, artistic, display, focused on flowers and butterflies that are in the summer garden, and on the beautiful trees there year-round. The lighting display includes up-lighting on trees, lighted bridges, towers, a jewel-box greenhouse, and a fountain, among others. There are no colossal blow-up Santas, plastic statues, or wooden deer. The lighting enhances the natural landscape and its features.
The Festival of Trees set-up begins in November in the Hunnewell building. Penni Jenkins, a volunteer for almost the entire 15 years that the festival has been held, spearheads the project. Individual and corporate donors design their own trees and either bring them in already decorated or bring the trees to the garden and decorate them on site. Visitors can buy a sheet of 26 raffle tickets for $10. They deposit the tickets in the receptacle for each tree that they are interested in winning. Winners win the whole tree, the ornaments, and any gifts placed below them. If a winner doesn't want the tree itself, they can still take the ornaments and presents home with them.
Children and adults are big fans of the very large model train display, set up in the Education building. On the way to the train room, visitors pass by an exhibit of drawings made by botany students. This year's theme was Bark and Berries.
Once in the Snow Village room, you hear the hum of trains moving around the tracks on both sides of the room. They move through streets filled with houses and other buildings, natural features, mountains, and other features. Children press themselves against the display, fascinated by everything in it. Adults try to snag a space next to the children to catch a view. The display is a magical sight that stirs the imagination.
In addition to the Festival of Trees, the Massachusetts Horticultural Society offers Tulipmania in the spring and several themed gardens to enjoy in the summer and fall, along with space for picnics. The Boston Outdoor Preschool Network holds classes through the spring and the New England Outdoor Camp conducts a camp there. Classes and learn-by-doing opportunities are available for adults throughout the year. See https://www.masshort.org/ for information on programs.
